Technique for providing personalized information and communications services

ABSTRACT

A user may utilize a communication device, e.g., a wireless phone, mobile device or personal digital assistant (PDA), to contact an information/call center where an operator provides personalized information and communications services to the user in accordance with the invention. Such services include, e.g., providing listing information, contacts information, appointments information, etc. To provide effective connectivity, for example, when a user locates a phone number in his/her private directory using a web browser, the user may utilize a direct connect feature of the invention to initiate a phone call to the desired number over the Internet. In addition, the invention allows for delivery of the appointments information to the user not only via voice connection, but also SMS, email, facsimile, PDA, etc. It also allows for rendering a calendaring service in combination with such services as a TeleConcierge® service which helps the user to plan a future event, e.g., making a restaurant reservation. An appointment record concerning the future event is automatically incorporated into the user&#39;s calendar once it is successfully planned. To personalize the services, at least one profile associated with the user is used which specifies the subscribed services and the preferred ways of receiving them. For example, the profile may specify use of a special skilled operator, methods of delivery of information to the user, etc.

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser. No.09/441,656 filed on Nov. 21, 1999 under 35 U.S.C. 120, and the benefitof U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/257,913 filed on Dec. 21, 2000under 35 U.S.C. 119(e).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a communication system and method, and moreparticularly to a system and method for providing personalizedinformation assistance and services.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In this information age, people need to be well informed and organizedto effectively carry out day-to-day activities, especially when they aretraveling and away from their “home” site where they normally conducttheir business. As a result, use of mobile devices which facilitatemobile communications such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), andwireless phones and devices is ubiquitous. For example, PDAs of the PALMtype allow users to store and organize their appointments, to-do listsand contacts information. Some PDAs also allow the users to access theInternet to upload and download information, and communicate with otherpeople and information sources via email.

Similarly, wireless phones conveniently allow users while traveling tocall and communicate with other people. In case the users cannotremember the telephone number of a contact or it is not handy, or theusers want to obtain directions and other information concerning, e.g.,restaurants, theaters, etc., they can call operators for assistance. Tothat end, an expansive network of communication call centers has beenestablished which provides users with nationwide assistance. However,for those users who would normally be able to call upon personal aidesat their offices, the operators may not be as efficient or personal inproviding information assistance and services as their personal aides.For example, by using conventional personal information management (PIM)software, a user's personal aide may maintain for the user a directorycontaining his/her contacts information. Based on some description ofthe contact provided by the user, especially when the contact isfrequently referred to at work, the personal aide oftentimes manages tolocate the requested information concerning the contact in the userdirectory. Thus, requests such as “I need to reach Bob . . . I forgethis last name;” “Connect me to Bob at ABC Corporation . . . I need hisdirect line;” and “I want to talk to the sales manager at ABCCorporation . . . What is his name?” would be sufficient for thepersonal aide to locate the contact information. On the other hand, anoperator typically needs to know at least the complete name of thedesired contact and sometimes his/her geographic location before theoperator can search a public directory for the contact information. Inaddition, when the user requests the contact's telephone number, anoperator normally provides the desired number verbally while the usermay prefer to receive it via email or other electronic automated meansfor storage and later reference. In that case, most likely either theoperator cannot meet such a user preference or its accommodation wouldincur a significant delay. For example, in accommodating the userpreference, the operator needs to, among others, learn the user's emailaddress for the first time. On the other hand, knowing his/herpreference and email address, the user's personal aide wouldautomatically send the requested telephone number to him/her via emailwithout delay.

Existing PIM software and devices are often used to store privatedirectory information and personal data, e.g., appointments, to-dolists, etc., but are often not convenient or safe tools for providingdirectory information to telephone users. Corporate employees in manycases must manually synchronize their personal and their corporatedirectories, and such private directories are often out of date orotherwise inaccurate, consuming what might otherwise be more productivetime.

Accordingly, there is a need for efficient and personalized informationassistance for telephone and mobile device users comparable to thatwhich is offered by the users' personal aides or which the users wouldexperience in the home site.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, a server is employed to effectivelymanage sources of information pertaining to and about a user, includinghis/her preferences. Such information sources may be in the form offolders containing contacts, appointments, to-do lists, notes, email,events, products and other information which may be tailored to theneeds of an individual, or a group, e.g., a corporation, anorganization, or a collection of people having a common interest. Afteridentifying a user to the server, the server presents, among others, alist of the contacts folders and appointments folders associated withthe user, and at least one option to perform an action on the folders,depending on the user's access rights to the folders. For example, if afolder is created by the user, the user, as the owner of the folder, hasrights to view, edit and even delete the folder. The owner can alsoappoint additional subscribers to the folder, e.g., read-onlysubscribers and administrators, and can also remove them later. Aread-only subscriber can view or read the folder entries, but cannotmake changes thereto. An administrator has, in addition to the viewingrights, rights to modify the folder, but no right to delete the folder.An administrator can also appoint or remove read-only subscribers, butnot administrators, to or from the folder.

In an illustrative embodiment, the user may access the folders directlythrough a web interface or indirectly through an operator. The operatoracts as an agent of the user and may possess substantially the sameaccess rights to the folders as the user. With access to the user'sfolders, the operator can be relied upon to efficiently retrieve thedesired contact and appointment information, and to modify theinformation if the user has authority to do so. As a result, such userrequests as “I need to reach Bob . . . I forget his last name;” “Connectme to Bob at ABC Corporation . . . I need his direct line;” and “I wantto talk to the sales manager at ABC Corporation . . . What is his name?”would be sufficient for the operator to locate the contact information.However, when given more specific data about the desired contact, e.g.,his/her full name, the operator may also search a national directory forthe desired contact to supplement and/or confirm the located contactinformation. The operator can further connect the user to the phonenumber of the desired contact in an expeditious manner. Thus, theoperator becomes, de facto, a personal aide to the user. However,advantageously, unlike a personal aide who works a limited number ofhours on weekdays, an operator can be reached all the time.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the contacts andappointments folders may be readily updated by synchronization with datasources in a PIM application. To that end, the user may specify anassociation of each folder with the PIM data source with which thefolder is to be synchronized. In addition, the user may specify thefrequency of synchronizations, and the direction(s) of information flowbetween the folder and the associated PIM data source. For example, theuser may specify that any changes to the folder are to be reflected inthe associated PIM data source, and/or the other way around.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, after a user locatesinformation concerning a desired contact in one or more directories,e.g., a contacts folder, which includes the contact's telephone number,the number is then verified and an icon or a link is generated on thedirectory which is selectable via a web interface to initiate acommunication connection to the number. For example, the communicationconnection may be a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) connection. Inan alternative embodiment, when the icon is selected, a switching systemis triggered to establish a first communication connection to thecontact's telephone number, requesting the contact to hold for the user.The switching system then establishes a second communication connectionto the user's telephone number, and bridges the first connection to thesecond connection to allow the user to communicate with the contact.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, when a serviceconcerning a future event is provided for the user, e.g., making arestaurant reservation for the user, an appointment record containinginformation concerning the future event is generated and incorporated inone or more of the user's appointments folders. In addition, the user isreminded of the future event by transmitting to the user a notificationcontaining at least part of the information in the appointment recordprior to the future event. Moreover, similar notifications may betransmitted to the invitees of the event as invitations.

In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, at least oneprofile associated with a user or group of users, e.g., a wirelesstelephone user, is employed to provide a service, e.g., informationassistance, to the user. The profile was previously established, and isidentified by an identifier, e.g., an automatic number identification(ANI), which is associated with a communication, e.g., a telephonecommunication, requesting the service. The profile includes preferenceswhich define options of the service. For instance, in providinginformation assistance, one of the preferences may specify use of aspecial skilled operator, e.g., a foreign language speaking operator, tohandle the information assistance call. Other preferences may specifymethods of delivery of different listing information which include,e.g., email, facsimile, short message service (SMS) transmissions orother delivery methods. In addition, the user may specify in a profilehis/her preferred types of events, areas of interest, food, products,services, manufacturers, merchants and other personal preferences, e.g.,preferred music, fashion, sports events, restaurants, seating on aplane, sizes of jackets, etc. Such a profile may be used by a server totailor the content of information delivered automatically to the user assoon as the information becomes available. For example, based on onesuch profile, the server, without being prompted by the user,communicates from time to time to the user any sales and advertisementinformation concerning his/her favorable products, services,manufacturers and merchants; and news and information concerning his/herpreferred types of events and areas of interest. Of course, suchinformation may also be obtained upon user's request.

It should be noted that the preferences in a profile may vary with time,and may be adjustable depending on different conditions. For example,preferences applicable to the day time may be turned off in the evening,at which time another set of preferences may control. Similarly,preferences applicable to weekdays may be turned off on weekends infavor of a second set of preferences selected for weekends.Advantageously, by using the profile, the user is automatically providedwith a personalized service, without the need of otherwise repeating thepreferences, e.g., each time when calling an operator to obtaininformation and assistance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawing showing an illustrative embodiment of theinvention, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a communications system including information/callcenters in accordance with the invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are block diagrams of components of the communicationssystem of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a Login graphical user interface (GUI) for providingpersonalized information and communications services in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a Home GUI in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an Edit GUI in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a GUI containing contact information in accordancewith the invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a View GUI in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a first example of caller identification (CID) datato be transmitted to a called station in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a second example of CID data to be transmitted to acalled station in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 10 illustrates a third example of CID data to be transmitted to acalled station in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates a fourth example of CID data to be transmitted to acalled station in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates a GUI particularly useful for an operator to searchfor directory information concerning a desired party in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates a user computer for accessing the personalizedinformation and communications services;

FIG. 14 illustrates a Home page presented on the user computer of FIG.13;

FIG. 15 is a flow chart depicting a first process for realizing a directconnect feature of the invention;

FIG. 16 is a flow chart depicting a second process for realizing adirect connect feature of the invention;

FIG. 17 illustrates a DAILY VIEW page of an appointments folder inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 18 illustrates a MONTHLY VIEW page of an appointments folder inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 19 illustrates an ADD APPOINTMENT VIEW page for adding anappointment record to an appointments folder in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 20 is a flow chart depicting a process for carrying out certaincalendaring functions in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 21 illustrates an arrangement for providing personalizedinformation and communications services to a user based on the userprofile(s); and

FIG. 22 illustrates a user profile in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 23 illustrates another user profile in extensible markup language(XML) which is equivalent to that of FIG. 22.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention is directed to providing personalized information andcommunications services to users, e.g., telephone and mobile deviceusers, especially when they are away from their “home” site from wherethey normally conduct their business. An objective of the invention isto provide the users with the personalized services comparable to thosewhich are offered by the users' personal aides, or which the users wouldexperience in their home site. The invention is realized by providingthe users with information management tools which include privatedirectory, direct connect, calendaring and user profile functionsdescribed below. In accordance with the invention, such management toolscan be flexibly defined by the users to effectively handle dynamicinformation. The latter may include, e.g., sales and price data whichvaries with time, and user profile preferences adjustable depending ondifferent conditions, e.g., weekdays vs. weekends, daytime vs. evening,travel in business class vs. first class when one of the classes isfull, and whether the user is in a roaming calling area. In accordancewith an aspect of the invention, an expansive network ofinformation/call centers are used where operators can effectivelyprovide the users with the personalized information and communicationsservices. Such services may include, e.g., providing directoryinformation, movie listings, restaurant recommendations, directions tovarious places, etc.; making reservations; sending invitations;administering appointments calendars; ticketing and conducting othertransactions for the users. It should be pointed out that the term“operator” here broadly encompasses entities that are capable ofproviding assistance in a telecommunication environment, includingwithout limitation human operators, voice response/recognitioncapabilities, web-enabled operator services, and other automated andelectronic access.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system embodying the principles of the invention,which includes wide area network (WAN) 30 covering an extensive area.WAN 30 can be an Internet-based network such as the World Wide Web or aprivate intranet based network. In this illustrative embodiment, WAN 30connects operators dispersed throughout a wide coverage area ininformation/call centers 21 through 27. Each of information/call centers21 through 27 covers one or more regional coverage areas. One or moreinformation hubs 10 are also included in WAN 30. An information hub 10includes one or more personalized information servers 28 which areaccessible by the operators in the system and one or more databases 20in which users' contacts, appointments and other folders and informationare stored and maintained. Such folders and information may also bestored locally at one or more of the information/call centers. Thefolders and information at different centers are synchronized.Synchronized databases provide necessary backup as well as support toroaming mobile device users.

It should be noted at this juncture that although the ensuing discussionillustratively focuses on contacts and appointments folders, itsimilarly applies to other folders containing, e.g., to-do lists, notes,email, events, products and other information which may be tailored tothe needs of an individual, or a group, e.g., a corporation, anorganization, or a collection of people having a common interest. Thus,in this illustrative embodiment, the contacts and appointments folderscontain contacts and appointments information pertaining to anindividual or a group. For instance, an individual may want to createmultiple contacts (appointments) folders for different purposes. Suchcontacts (appointments) folders may include a personal contacts(appointments) folder containing personal contacts (appointments)information, a business contacts (appointments) folder containingbusiness contacts information, and a softball group contacts(appointments) folder containing contacts (appointments) informationwhich pertains to the softball league to which the individual belongs.The creator of a folder by default is the “owner” of the folder,although the ownership of the folder is transferable. For example, inthe event that the individual owner may want to allow his/her spouse toaccess the personal contacts folder, the owner can grant the spouse theright to view the folder entries only. The spouse would then become a“read-only” user of or subscriber to the folder. Furthermore, the ownermay want to allow the spouse to modify the personal contacts folder toadd his/her own contacts information thereto. In that case, the spousewould become an “administrator” of the folder.

Thus, in the first instance, the owner of a contacts or appointmentsfolder is the only subscriber and has sole access to the folder. Theowner can appoint additional subscribers to the folder, e.g., read-onlysubscribers and administrators, and can also remove them later. Aread-only subscriber can view or read the folder entries, but cannotmake changes thereto. An administrator has, in addition to the viewingrights, rights to modify the folder, but no right to delete the folder.An administrator can also appoint or remove read-only subscribers, butnot administrators, to or from the folder.

A group, e.g., a company, may take advantage of the invention by keepingthe contacts information of all of its employees in a contacts folder.Different levels of access may be set up for different employees. Forexample, some employees may be provided access to the actual contactdetails contained in the contacts folder. In contrast, other employeesmay only have the ability to place calls, without being supplied withthe contact details of the party called.

In this illustrative embodiment, a contacts (appointments) folder may becreated and maintained (1) through the Internet or other communicationsmeans; (2) through an agent, e.g., an operator; and/or (3) using a PIM.In case (3), by running a synchronization engine, any contacts(appointments) information which has been changed (added, edited ordeleted) in a PIM data source may be updated in the correspondingcontacts (appointments) folder, and vice versa, subject to the accessrights of the user.

In case (2), a user may access a contacts (appointments) folder throughcommunications with an operator at an information/call center viatelecommunication media, e.g., wireless telephone, wireline telephone,voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), PDA, VPN, etc. The operator, asexplained in more detail below, is generally provided with web browsingcapabilities, telephone facilities as well as fully-featured operatoruser interface applications which facilitate the searching, retrievaland administering of database 20 through server 28. It is wellunderstood that operators generally receive and respond to requests forinformation and communications services.

In accordance with the invention, an operator to whom a user (i.e., aread-only subscriber, administrator, or owner) of a contacts(appointment) folder corresponds is provided at least the same accessrights to the folder as the user. Thus, if the operator corresponds to a“read-only” subscriber, the operator may only view the contacts(appointments) folder but not change it. On the other hand, if theoperator corresponds to an owner of the folder, the operator has fullaccess rights to the folder. However, an operator has additional accessrights. For example, if a user has changed telephone numbers, anoperator is allowed to change the association of the user's folders fromthe old telephone number to the new telephone number. This situation isfrequently encountered when users change wireless carriers. The operatormay confirm that the carrier to which the user subscribes allowscreation of contacts (appointments) folders and, if so, may recordcertain information concerning the user including a password, ausername, and/or an email address to provide the personalized servicesin accordance with the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, information/call center 100 (whichgenerically represents one of aforementioned information/call centers 21through 27) is attended by operators, which includes switching matrixplatform 114 connected to one or more external T1 voice connections 112and one or more corresponding T1 data connections 113 from carriernetworks. Switching matrix platform 114 is also connected via T1communication links to channel bank 116 for coupling to operatortelephones 118.

Each operator is equipped with a terminal 120 that includes a monitor,mouse and keyboard with associated dialing pad. The operator terminalsare coupled over data network 124 to database server 126, allowing anoperator to access the data in database server 126 through operatorterminals 120. Database server 126 contains, among other things, publicdirectory information.

Data network 124 further connects to voice response unit (VRU) 130,profile gateway 321 described below, and switching matrix host computer128 (also known as a PBX host), which in turn is connected to switchingmatrix platform 114 by switch data link 122. Data network 124 consistsof, but is not limited to, local area network (LAN) 127, best seen inFIG. 2B. LAN 127 may connect to other similar remote LANs 129 to formWAN 30 in FIG. 1. LANs 127 and 129 are connected to one another and toInternet 121 via routers 125.

A user's telephone, computer, PDA or other telecommunication device 144communicates via communications network 146 which is connected tocarrier network node 142 and carrier switching center 140. T1 voiceconnections 112, or voice links, provide connection between theinformation/call center's switching matrix platform 114 and thecarrier's switching center 140, through which incoming informationassistance calls are received. T1 voice connections 112 further provideconnection to the carrier network over which outgoing calls are placed(which network may be different than that used for incoming calls).Similarly, T1 data connections 113, or data links, provide a signalingconnection between the information/call center's node (not shown) andcarrier network node 142, through which incoming and outgoing signalingmessages are transported. The information/call center node is containedwithin switching matrix platform 114, but one with skill in the art willappreciate that the information/call center node could also be aphysically distinct component. If the outgoing call is being placed overa different network than that on which the incoming call was received, asecond data connection to the outgoing network will be established.

Switching matrix platform 114 is conventional which includes digitalsignal processing circuitry providing the requisite conferencecapability, and DTMF and multi frequency (MF) tone generation/detectioncapabilities. In this illustrative embodiment, switch 114 supportsdigital T1 connectivity. The operation of switching matrix platform 114is governed by computer-readable instructions stored and executed onswitch matrix host computer 128.

VRU 130 is employed to play the constantly repeated parts of anoperator's speech, namely the various greetings and signoffs (orclosings), and the caller's desired telephone number where requested.Not only does this system provide a voice-saving and monotony-relieffunctionality for the operators, it performs a “branding” function(i.e.,. the pre-recorded messages incorporate the name of the telephonecompany through which the caller was routed to the informationassistance service), and it also reduces the amount of time an operatoris actually connected to a caller. VRU 130 may also contain a voicerecognition system for receiving verbal input from a party connected tothe VRU.

VRU 130 is connected via data network 124 to switching matrix host 128(to which it acts as a slave processor) and via one or more T1 spans toswitching matrix platform 114. Each VRU 130 when more than one isemployed in information/call center 100, connects to switching matrixplatform 114 via a separate voice server link. VRU 130 comprises ageneral purpose computer incorporating one or more voice cards, whichserve as the interface between VRU 130 and the T1 span to switchingmatrix platform 114. A voice card in VRU 130 monitors and controlscommunications over the T1 span. Its capabilities include telephone tonedetection and generation, voice recording and playback, and callprogress analysis. Similar to switching matrix platform 114, VRU 130 iscapable of detecting connection status conditions, detecting callerkeypresses, and generating tones.

At appropriate stages in a call progression, switching matrix host 128initiates a voice path between VRU 130 and switching matrix platform 114such that the caller, or the caller and the operator, are able to hearwhatever pre-recorded speech is played on that circuit by VRU 130.Switching matrix host 128 then instructs VRU 130, via data network 124,what type of message to play, passing data parameters that enable VRU130 to locate the message appropriate to the call state, theservice-providing telephone carrier, and the operator.

Database server 126 enables the operator to search not just by name andaddress, but also by type of goods/services and/or geographical region,or by any other attribute in the caller record, including phone number.

Users of a particular telephone carrier or company may dial, speak orotherwise communicate the access digits, access codes or retail numbers,or input an address or a URL established for information assistance bythat company. The instant example assumes that the user dials thedesignated access number, e.g., “411”, “* 555,” “555-1212” or “00.” Theparticipating telephone company's own switching system will then reroutethe call to information/call center 100 (via a T1 channel), where itappears as an incoming call.

Automatic call distribution (ACD) logic is used to queue (if necessary)and distribute calls to operators in the order in which they arereceived, and such that the call traffic is distributed evenly among theoperators. In other embodiments, other distribution logic schemes areutilized, such as skills-based routing or a priority scheme forpreferred callers. The queue is maintained by switching matrix host 128.

When a call is connected to an operator, switching matrix host 128directs VRU 130 (also conferenced into the call) to play a greetingmessage, using a message prerecorded by the connected operator. Both theoperator and the caller hear the message, which incorporates the name ofthe service or company to which the caller is a subscriber (in otherwords, the call is “branded”). The message ends with a prompt, thuscuing the caller to volunteer what information they are seeking. Whenthe automated greeting is complete, the VRU is disconnected, and theoperator and the caller are left connected by a 2-way speech path. Fromthis point, the caller is interacting with a live operator.

As mentioned before, a user may create, maintain or access a contacts(appointments) folder via the Internet or other communications means, orthrough an operator who in turn may create, maintain or access thefolder on behalf of the user. Without loss of generality, the user inthis instance wants to access a contacts folder through an operator. Tothat end, the user uses telecommunication device 144, e.g., a wirelessphone, to call an operator at a designated access number. Let's say thecall is routed to information/call center 100 where an operator attendsto the call. After the user communicates to the operator his/her needs,the operator at terminal 120 accesses personalized information server 28through WAN 30 (or alternatively Internet 121). In response, server 28presents on terminal 120 a Login graphical user interface (GUI), whichis illustrated in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the operator is promptedto enter the user's phone number or username to identify the user, and apassword to verify that the user is authorized to access thepersonalized information and communications service in accordance withthe invention.

It should be noted at this point that the user identification andpassword are established beforehand through a registration process. Forexample, to join the personalized service, the user can call an operatorat the designated access number. As part of the registration, theoperator enters at a user data web page on server 28 the user identity,username, password, and telephone number of the particulartelecommunication device, e.g., wireless phone in this instance, whichthe user would use to call the service in the future. It is particularlyadvantageous to use such a phone number (also known as a mobiledirectory number (MDN) in the case of a wireless phone number) toidentify the user since the calling number would be automaticallycaptured at information/call center 100 when the user calls.Specifically, platform 114 in center 100 in a well known manner derives,from the call set-up signals associated with the user's call, the user'sphone number from which the call originates, also known as the automaticnumber identification (ANI).

Thus, referring to FIG. 3, the ANI of the user is automatically providedin entry 301 by platform 114, thereby obviating the need of theoperator's eliciting from the user, and entering, the required phonenumber or username. (In the event that such an ANI is not automaticallyavailable, the user may supply, with or without prompting, the necessaryidentification.) At entry 304, the operator enters the password providedby the user to complete the login process. The login information is thentransmitted to server 28, where it checks the aforementioned user dataweb page to verify the received ANI and password. After they areverified, server 28 identifies from the user data web page all of thecontacts folders and appointments folders associated with the receivedANI, and the user's access rights thereto. Server 28 then presents toterminal 120 a Home GUI, listing all such contacts and appointmentsfolders.

FIG. 4 illustrates such a Home GUI, which lists, among others, contactsfolders 403 and 405 designated “Company Contacts” and “My Contacts,”respectively. The owners of folders 403 and 405 are identified to be“Joe Smith” and the “User,” respectively. After checking the accessrights of the user to folders 403 and 405 in the aforementioned userdata web page, server 28 determines that the user is a read-onlysubscriber to folder 403 and an owner of folder 405. As a result, theuser is afforded option 411 which is selectable to view informationconcerning the contacts in folder 403. Since the user is the owner offolder 405, the user is afforded option 415 to edit the contactsinformation in folder 405. Also by selecting option 415, the user(through the operator acting as an agent of the user in this instance)is able to view the contacts information therein, with or withoutactually editing it. It should be noted that in this example, it isunderstood that the user's actions upon folders 403 and 405 are throughthe agency of the operator. Such an agency relationship should beapparent in the context of the description of the example even thoughthe repetition of this relationship may be omitted from time to time forfear of verbosity. Moreover, the user, as the owner of folder 405, isafforded option 417 to delete folder 405, and option 419 to appoint newadministrators and/or read-only subscribers to folder 405, remove theirassociation from the folder, and/or change their access level.

In addition, the Home GUI of FIG. 4 lists appointments folders 407 and409 designated “Company Calendar” and “My Appointments,” respectively.Although the calendaring aspects of the invention are fully describedbelow, it suffices to know for now that depending on the user's accessrights to appointments folders 407 and 409, the user likewise is allowedto perform certain actions thereupon. For example, as a read-onlysubscriber to folder 407, the user is afforded option 421 to view theappointment records therein. As the owner of folder 409, the user isafforded option 425 to edit/view the appointment records therein, option427 to delete the folder, and option 429 to appoint new administratorsand/or read-only subscribers to folder 409, remove their associationfrom the folder, and/or change their access level. The user is alsoafforded option 433 to create a new contacts folder, and option 435 tocreate a new appointments folder.

By way of example, instructed by the user, the operator in this instanceselects option 415 to edit/view contacts information in folder 405. Inresponse, server 28 presents on terminal 120 an Edit GUI, listing thecontacts information in folder 405. This GUI is illustrated in FIG. 5,where for each contact, e.g., Bob, his/her name, home phone number,business phone number and mobile phone number, if any, are displayed,although additional information concerning the contact, e.g., his/herpostal and electronic mail addresses, may be available but is notdisplayed for lack of room. For that reason, a More option, e.g., option505, is provided for selection to present the additional information ona separate display. In addition, for each contact an Edit option, e.g.,option 507, is provided to edit the contact information. For instance,when option 507 is selected, server 28 returns another GUI, which isillustrated in FIG. 6. At this GUI, different fields concerning thecontact Bob, e.g., his name, company name, company address, phonenumbers, facsimile numbers and pager numbers are presented, and eachfield may be modified by overwriting any existing information therein.

It should be noted that to protect privacy of certain information abouta contact, e.g., his/her home phone number, an owner or administrator offolder 405 is afforded Private options, e.g., option 607, to designatecertain contact information private. Accordingly, server 28 exercisescensorship on contact information in a folder based on any privacyprotection previously imposed by the owner or administrator of thefolder. For example, when option 607 is selected, Bob's home phonenumber is kept private. That is, a read-only subscriber to folder 405 isnot privy to Bob's home phone number. As a result, when a read-onlysubscriber views a listing of the contacts including Bob in folder 405,his home phone number is replaced by a “Private” notice.

However, in accordance with an aspect of the invention, the read-onlysubscriber may still be connected to Bob's home phone number by theoperator, but will not be provided with the number dialed. To that end,after the read-only subscriber calls an operator and requests to beconnected to Bob, the operator goes through the similar Login and HomeGUIs which however pertain to the read-only subscriber. By utilizing thesearch engine described below, the operator uncovers listing 712 in aView GUI illustrated in FIG. 7.

It should be noted that this View GUI which is made available to aread-only subscriber (represented by the operator in this instance) tofolder 405 is similar to the Edit GUI of FIG. 5 which is made availableto an owner or administrator of the folder. However, the two GUIs differfrom each other in that unlike the Edit GUI, the View GUI lacks Editoptions since a read-only subscriber to folder 405 does not possess editrights. In addition, Bob's home number, designated private, is revealedon the Edit GUI to the owner or administrator of folder 405, but not onthe View GUI. Thus, in this instance, the operator is faced with thesame “Private” notice in lieu of Bob's home phone number on the View GUIas would be the case if the read-only subscriber accesses the View GUIon his/her own. In order to connect the read-only subscriber to Bob'shome number, the operator at terminal 120 signals switching matrixplatform 114 to place the read-only subscriber's call on hold, andselects the “Private” notice. This selection causes an identification(ID) of the subscriber's connection which is on hold, and a request forBob's home number in folder 405 to be sent to server 28. In response tosuch a request, server 28 retrieves Bob's home number in folder 405 fromdatabase 20, and transmits another request for connecting the subscriberto the retrieved phone number to switching matrix host computer 128 viaWAN 30. This request includes the aforementioned subscriber's connectionID. Under control of computer 128, platform 114 then calls Bob's homephone number to establish a connection thereto. Once the new connectionis established, computer 128 causes platform 114 to bridge thesubscriber's connection identified by the received ID to the newconnection, thereby connecting the subscriber to Bob's home number,without disclosing the number to the subscriber, or the operator forthat matter.

In an alternative embodiment, the operator plays an active role beforethe subscriber's connection is bridged to the connection to Bob's homenumber. In this embodiment, the operator obtains from the user data webpage the subscriber's name as registered. However, the operator may alsoverify the subscriber's name with the subscriber verbally before puttingthe subscriber's connection on hold. As soon as platform 114 establishesthe connection to Bob's home number, the operator is afforded an optionto ask Bob over the newly established connection whether Bob wants totalk to the read-only subscriber. If Bob accepts the call, the operatorsignals host computer 128 to cause platform 114 to bridge Bob'sconnection to the subscriber's connection, thereby connecting thesubscriber to Bob's home number. Otherwise, if Bob declines to talk tothe read-only subscriber, the operator informs the subscriber of thedeclination and causes platform 114 to terminate (or tear down) bothconnections with Bob and the subscriber.

In another alternative embodiment, VRU 130 takes the place of theoperator in asking Bob whether he wants to answer the subscriber's call.That is, before the subscriber's connection is bridged to Bob'sconnection, VRU 130 seizes Bob's connection and announces in anautomated voice, over the connection, an arrival of the call from thesubscriber who is identified by his/her registered name. After learningthe identity of the subscriber, Bob is afforded a choice to accept thecall by pressing a first predetermined key on his telephone. Theresulting DTMF signal causes platform 114 to bridge the subscriber'sconnection to Bob's connection. Otherwise, Bob may press a secondpredetermined key to reject the call. The resulting DTMF signal causes(a) VRU 130 to announce to the subscriber, through the subscriber'sconnection, Bob's declination to answer the call, and (b) platform 114to terminate both Bob's and the subscriber's connections.

In yet another alternative embodiment, the screening of the subscriber'scall is achieved by using an improved caller ID (CID) feature inaccordance with the invention. Traditionally, by subscribing to a CIDservice and utilizing a CID receiver, which may be integrated into aphone, a called party between phone rings may receive display CIDinformation on the receiver which includes the originating telephonenumber, name associated with that number, date and time of the call. Onesuch receiver for receiving CID information is described, e.g., in U.S.Pat. No. 4,582,956 issued to Doughty on Apr. 15, 1986.

The CID information is transmitted from a switching office connected tothe called party's CID receiver using frequency shift keyed (FSK) modemtones. These FSK modem tones are used to transmit the display message inASCII character code form. The transmission of the display message takesplace between the first and second rings of the called station. The CIDdata format and transmitter are described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No.4,551,581 (“the '581 patent”) issued to Doughty on Nov. 5, 1985. Asdescribed in the '581 patent, the data format of each message to be sentto the called station is preceded by the specification of the type andlength of the message. For example, for the first message concerning theoriginating number, the first character sent is the message type whichspecifies that the ensuing message is an originating number. The secondcharacter represents the length of the message. After the message lengthcharacter are characters which represent the digits of the originatingnumber. Additional messages follow the same data format (i.e., typecharacter, length character and message content in that order). Theformatted messages are followed by a checksum or other error detectioncharacter which is used to detect errors which may have been introducedin the transmission.

However, we have recognized a few disadvantages of using the traditionalCID service. For example, any name which appears in the CID alongsidethe originating telephone number identifies the telephone servicesubscriber to that number, and which is registered by a telephonecarrier in a directory database, also known as “white pages.” Telephonecarriers typically have directory listings of wireline telephone servicesubscribers but currently lack the listings of wireless telephoneservice subscribers. As a result, when a caller uses a wirelesstelephone to call a called station, the CID receiver at the calledstation typically displays the wireless telephone number, but not thename of the associated telephone service subscriber because of a lack ofthe white pages information. As such, the traditional CID service isineffective in screening wireless calls by the callers' name.

Return now to the above example where the caller, who is a read-onlysubscriber to contacts folder 405, asks an operator to connect him/herto Bob's home number which is indicated “Private” in the folder. Not tobe confused with a telephone service subscriber, the folder subscriberin this example will now be referred to simply as the “caller.” When thecaller calls the operator for connecting him/her to Bob's home number,the ANI associated with the caller's call is communicated to center 100which, as mentioned before, is derived by platform 114 from the callset-up signals. In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the whitepages information associated with such an ANI is provided as CID data toBob for call screening purposes. To that end, host computer 128 providesthe ANI to database server 126 to look up the corresponding white pagesinformation. It should be noted that unlike a typical telephone carrier,call/information center 100 in this instance has access to directorylistings of both wireline and wireless telephone service subscribers.Thus, based on the received ANI, server 126 locates the directorylisting including the name of the telephone service subscriberassociated with the ANI. While the connection with the caller is onhold, and the second connection to Bob's home number is beingestablished, host computer 128 in accordance with the inventioncommunicates, as part of the call set-up procedure, the ANI andassociated telephone service subscriber name to the called station(i.e., Bob's telephone) as the CID data. Specifically, such ANI andassociated telephone service subscriber name are formatted in the wellknown CID data format and communicated, pursuant to an agreed-uponprotocol, to the aforementioned data transmitter in the switching officeconnected to the called station.

FIG. 8 illustrates the ANI and associated telephone service subscribername in the CID data format. As shown in FIG. 8, type character 715specifies that the ensuing message contains the telephone number of thecalling station from which the caller calls the operator. Lengthcharacter 718 specifies the length of such a telephone number. Messagefield 721 contains the actual telephone number of the calling station,i.e., the ANI. In addition, type character 724 specifies that theensuing message contains the telephone service subscriber nameassociated with the telephone number in field 721 according to thedirectory listing. Length character 727 specifies the length of such aname. Message field 730 contains the actual telephone service subscribername. Following field 730 is checksum field 733 for detection oftransmission errors.

In a well known manner, the data transmitter in the switching officetransmits the CID data between rings of the called station, which isdisplayed on the called station or other connected device for receivingsuch CID data. As soon as the connection to the called station isestablished, host computer 128 causes platform 114 to bridge the newconnection to the caller's connection which is on hold. Presumably, Bobreviews the resulting CID display information at the called stationbefore he decides to answer the call or not.

However, we have recognized that in the above example, the caller maynot always be the same as the telephone service subscriber to theoriginating number because the caller may have borrowed another person'stelephone to call. As a result, the CID message indicating the name ofthe telephone service subscriber may be misleading in identifying whomthe caller is. Thus, in accordance with a second aspect of theinvention, after obtaining the white pages information based on the ANIin the above example, the operator checks the name associated with theANI in the directory listing against the caller's name as registered onthe user data web page. If they do not match, the operator may assumethat the caller's name from the user data web page is valid as theassociated password of the caller was verified in the earlier loginprocess. However, the operator may also verify the caller's name withthe caller on the phone. The operator then enters the actual caller'sname on terminal 120, which replaces the telephone service subscribername in the CID data to be transmitted to the called station. FIG. 9illustrates the resulting formatted CID data, which differs from that ofFIG. 8 in that type character 741 and length character 743 in FIG. 9correspond to the caller's name, as opposed to the telephone servicesubscriber name. In addition, message field 745 contains such a caller'sname.

We have also recognized that with the caller's name ascertained in theabove example, the calling station number in the CID data serves noadditional identification purpose. However, it may provide a means forthe called party to return the caller's call. For instance, uponreviewing the CID display information, Bob may decide not to answer thecall immediately as he is unavailable or currently on another call. Bobmay try to contact the caller later using the display calling stationnumber. Nevertheless, by the time when Bob calls, the caller may not beat that number, or the caller may want Bob to return his/her call at adifferent number or by a different method of communications altogether,e.g., facsimile, email or SMS. Thus, in accordance with a third aspectof the invention, the operator may query the caller on the phone formethods of returning his/her call in case Bob does not answer the callimmediately. In this instance, let's say the caller wants Bob to returnhis/her call using a telephone number different from the current callingnumber, or via facsimile or email. In that case, the caller provides theoperator with his/her desired (1) call-back telephone number, (2)facsimile number and (3) email address. Accordingly, the operator enterson terminal 120 the information concerning the call-return methods,along with the caller's name, to generate the CID data to be transmittedto the called station. The resulting formatted CID data by host computer128 is illustrated in FIG. 10, which includes additional type character751 and length character 753 correspond to the call-back telephonenumber, which is contained in message field 755; type character 757 andlength character 759 correspond to the caller's facsimile number, whichis contained in message field 761 and may be preceded with “F-” to bedistinguished from a telephone number; type character 763 and lengthcharacter 765 correspond to the caller's email address, which iscontained in message field 767. Of course, the time period for whicheach method of communications is the most convenient to the caller mayalso be specified in the CID data.

Further, we have recognized that the caller's name in the CID displaymay not be sufficient information for the called party to decide toanswer the call. The purpose of the call, or the subject of the call maybe important as well. For instance, Bob in the above example wouldanswer the call if it concerns a business meeting the next day whereashe would not if it concerns an upcoming social event, even though thecaller is the same in each case. Thus, in accordance with a fourthaspect of the invention, the operator, when querying the caller for thecall-return methods, may also query the caller for the purpose orsubject of the call, or other CID message to be shown to Bob. Forexample, the caller may want to confirm the meeting with Bob at 10 a.m.tomorrow. In that case, a CID message such as “See you tomorrow at 10”is sufficient to confirm the meeting. In implementation, the CID messagemay be abbreviated to accommodate the limited number of charactersallowed. Thus, upon reviewing such a CID message while the calledstation is ringing, Bob may choose not to answer the call if he issatisfied with the message, or to pick up the call if he wants to talkto the caller, e.g., to change the meeting schedule or for whateverreasons. Thus, in this illustrative embodiment, the operator also enterson terminal 120 the call-content attribute of the call (e.g.,information concerning the call purpose or subject), or any desiredmessage from the caller to generate the CID data to be transmitted tothe called station. The resulting formatted CID data is illustrated inFIG. 11, which includes additional type character 771 and lengthcharacter 773 corresponding to the call-content attribute and/or desiredmessage from the caller, which are contained in message field 775. Byreviewing the display CID information at the called station whichincludes the call-content attribute and/or caller's message in thisinstance, Bob is able to make a better informed decision whether toanswer the call.

Referring back to FIG. 6, as mentioned before, the owner oradministrator of a contacts folder is afforded Private options, e.g.,option 607 to designate certain contact information (e.g., Bob's homenumber) private. However, in another embodiment, a selection of one suchPrivate option leads to a query for a desired privacy level. Thisprivacy level is used to qualify the restriction of access to privateinformation. For example, in company contacts folder 403, informationaccorded privacy level 1 can only be revealed to employees of a company,identifiable by their phone number or username; information accordedprivacy level 2 can only be revealed to managers and higher-rankedemployees of the company; information accorded privacy level 3 can onlybe revealed to directors and higher-ranked officials of the company; andso on and so forth. Thus, the invention serves as a clearing house toallow proper parties to access the folder information, i.e., servingonly pre-authorized information to a given party.

Referring back to FIG. 4, a search engine is provided on a Home GUI tosearch for a listing of a desired contact. For example, the operator mayspecify at entry 455 a search term (e.g., Bob), and select at entry 457the type of folder (e.g., contacts or appointments) in which the searchterm is to be found. Thus, by using such a search engine, an informalrequest without much information, such as “I need to reach Bob” and “Iwant to talk to the sales manager at ABC Corporation” is sufficient forthe operator to locate the requested contact information. Afterinitiating the search by clicking on the “Search” button, any listingsatisfying the search query is highlighted. In this instance, a searchon the name “Bob” in a contacts folder uncovers listing 512 in the EditGUI of FIG. 5.

It is anticipated that when given more specific data about the desiredcontact, e.g., Bob's full name, the operator may also search a publicdirectory, e.g., national directory, for the desired contact tosupplement and/or confirm the contact information. To that end, GUI 780in FIG. 12 is designed for the operator to perform such a combinedsearch. As shown in FIG. 12, section 785 of GUI 780 corresponds to theHome GUI of FIG. 4, which allows the operator to manage contacts andappointments folders for the user as described before. In addition,section 782 provides the interface for the operator to search both thecontacts folders and public directory for information concerning thedesired contact.

As mentioned before, a user may directly access server 28 to create,manage and/or view contacts folders and appointments folders via theInternet, without agency of an operator. For example, by utilizingcomputer 803 in FIG. 13, which may be a personal computer (PC) andincludes, among others, processor 805, modem facility 807, and memory812 containing web browser 809, the user can access server 28 over the.Internet at a predetermined uniform resource locator (URL). The webpages provided to the user through the direct Internet access aresimilar to those GUIs described above. For example, upon accessingserver 28, computer 803 is presented by server 28 with a Login pagesimilar to the Login GUI in FIG. 3. However, here the user needs tomanually enter his/her telephone number or username, or other identifiersince he/she cannot take advantage of the ANI feature as in theabove-described case where the user calls an operator to access server28 indirectly. The user is also required to enter the password at theLogin page. After the login is verified, server 28 identifies from theaforementioned user data web page all of the contacts folders andappointments folders associated with the user, and the user's accessrights thereto. The server 28 then presents to computer 803 a Home pageillustrated in FIG. 14. This Home page is similar to the Home GUI ofFIG. 4 except that the Home page of FIG. 14 also includes option 905 forsynchronization in accordance with the invention.

We have recognized that the user for whatever reasons may utilizeconventional PIMs in addition to the inventive personalized servicesdescribed above to conduct day-to-day activities. These conventionalPIMs include, but not limited to, Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express,Goldmine, Symantec Act!, Lotus Organizer and Lotus Notes applications,or a Palm-type device, which provide capabilities of managing/viewingcontacts information and appointments. To effectively conduct theday-to-day activities, it is desirable that the contacts andappointments data sources in one such PIM are synchronized with thecontacts and appointments folders in database 20 corresponding theretoso that any changes in the PIM data sources are reflected in thecorresponding folders, and vice versa. In this example, one suchconventional PIM application, denoted 819, is incorporated in computer803. Synchronization engine 815, also installed in computer 803, is usedto perform the desirable synchronization function. In the event that theuser wants to use engine 815 to synchronize with a Palm-type device, onesuch device may be connected to computer 803 through external interface821. In this illustrative embodiment, engine 815 is designed based on acommercially available Intellisync Connector SDK kit provided by PumaTechnology, San Jose, Calif. Engine 815 may be downloaded from server 28via the Internet and is configured according to PIM application 819used. In configuring engine 815, all of the contacts and appointmentfolders in database 20 associated with the user are identified. However,in accordance with the invention, only those contacts and appointmentsfolders of which the user is either an owner or administrator can beselected to be synchronized with data sources in PIM application 819,stemming from the requirement that a folder can only be modified by itsowner or administrator, but not its read-only subscriber. Thus, in thisinstance, since the user is the owner of My Contacts folder 405 and MyAppointments folder 409, the user is afforded options to synchronizefolder 405 and/or folder 409 with the corresponding PIM data sourcesspecified by the user.

In addition, in accordance with an aspect of the invention, the user isafforded options to specify the directions and frequency ofsynchronizations. That is, the user is afforded an option to (a) exportany changes in the folders to the corresponding PIM data sources, butnot the other way around; (b) export any changes in the PIM data sourcesto the corresponding folders, but not the other way around; and (c)perform bidirectional synchronization, i.e., both (a) and (b).Information concerning the association of each folder with the PIM datasource to be synchronized with the folder, and directions of thesynchronization are stored in configuration file 827. After the initialset-up of engine 815 and file 827, each time when the user creates afolder or becomes an administrator of a folder, the user is afforded theabove-described options to associate the folder with the correspondingPIM data source and the direction of synchronization.

Referring to the Home page of FIG. 14, Synchronization option 905 inthis instance is provided for selection to synchronize My Contactsfolder 405 and My Appointments folder 409 of which the user is an ownerwith the corresponding PIM data sources. It should be noted that theprovision of option 905 depends on the association information containedin configuration file 827. In the event that a folder of which the useris an owner or administrator has no association with any PIM datasource, a warning about a lack of such association may be issued on theHome page to alert the user. This warning may include highlighting thefolder name, e.g., in red. The user may then add any such association tofile 827 if he/she so desires.

By selecting option 905, the user initiates the synchronization processwhere engine 815 causes an exchange of data between each participatingfolder on server 28 and the associated PIM data source in computer 803through web browser 809, depending on the direction of synchronizationspecified in configuration file 827.

Alternatively, the synchronization may be automated by programmingengine 815 to synchronize the specified folders with the associated PIMdata sources from time to time, provided that computer 803 is connectedto server 28. For example, engine 815 may be programmed to performunattended synchronizations at specified times, after computer 803 hasbeen idle for a specified period, or when the user logs on/off computer803. In addition, engine 815 may be programmed to suspend any automatedsynchronization while computer 803 is running on battery power.

Direct Connect Feature

In accordance with a “direct connect” feature of the invention, a useris afforded effective connectivity to phone numbers listed in a storeddirectory, e.g, My Contacts folder 405 described above, or addresseswithin a communication network. In a first embodiment realizing thedirect connect feature, the user preferably has access to a device,e.g., computer 803, having conventional multimedia capabilities, e.g.,speakers, a microphone and a sound card, incorporated therein.Additional telephonic software is also incorporated in computer 803 sothat the resulting computer may serve as a phone terminal through whichthe user may call a telephone number and conduct a phone conversationvia a subscribed telephone service. Such telephonic software may besupplied and/or specified by the telephone service provider as part ofthe service. One such telephone service may be, e.g., the Net2Phoneservice, which provides telephone connectivity through a communicationsnetwork implementing a transmission control protocol/Internet protocol(TCP/IP) data transport, e.g., the Internet. The telephone connectivityis realized in a well known manner using voice over IP (VOIP)connections through such a communications network.

Web browser 809 in computer 803 enables the user to access, through theInternet, a directory database server, e.g., personalized informationserver 28, connected to the Internet at a predetermined uniform resourcelocator (URL). For instance, using web browser 809, the user in themanner described before can add to, delete from and update contactsinformation in folder 405. The user can also search for desired contactsinformation in contacts folders using the aforementioned search enginein FIG. 4. For example, FIG. 5 illustrates listing 512 containing thedesired contact information as a result of one such search. Continuingthe example, let's say the user at this point wants to call Bob's homenumber 1005 in listing 512. To that end, the user uses an indicatordevice, e.g., a mouse, touchpad, trackball, etc., connected to computer803 to point and click at the desired number in listing 512 to call. Thedesired number is then highlighted. In response, server 28 determineswhether the highlighted phone number is a valid “dialable” number, asindicated at step 2103 in FIG. 15. In a well known manner, in makingsuch a determination, server 28 checks whether the highlighted phonenumber consists of only numerals, and is in compliance with the standardtelephone numbering plan. If it is determined that the highlighted phonenumber is invalid, it generates a message to the web browser, indicatingto the user that the phone number is invalid, as indicated at step 2106.Otherwise, if it is determined that the highlighted phone number isvalid, server 28 at step 2109 generates an icon or a link, e.g.,telephone icon 1007 in FIG. 5, next to the highlighted phone number.When the icon is selected by the user to call the valid phone number,server 28 at step 2112 transmits the phone number to web browser 809 incomputer 803. Accordingly, web browser 809 invokes a VoIP application,part of the aforementioned telephonic software, on computer 803, andpasses the received phone number to that application. The latter thenutilizes the subscribed telephone service to establish a VoIP connectionto the phone number over the Internet, whereby the user can conduct thephone conversation at computer 803.

A second embodiment realizing the direct connect feature requires noinstallation of the telephonic software or telephone service for VoIPconnection as in the first embodiment. Rather, this second embodimentrelies on an information/call center to establish a callback connectionto a desired phone number for the user. For example, let's say the userselects the icon, e.g., telephone icon 1007, next to the desired phonenumber, e.g., number 1005, on listing 512. Based on the desired phonenumber, and in particular its area code and/or prefix, server 28identifies the information/call center which is the closest to thelocation of the called party at that number. Server 28 then transmits acall initiation message to the identified information/call center viaWAN 30, which contains the desired phone number to call, and the user'sname and wireless (or wireline, e.g., home) phone number which arepre-recorded by server 28 as part of the user registration. The callinitiation message is then routed to the identified information/callcenter, say, information/call center 21, and particularly to theswitching matrix host computer therein, i.e., host computer 128 in thisinstance. Upon receiving the call initiation message, host computer 128causes switching matrix platform 114 to establish a first one of theoutbound voice connections 112 to the desired phone number, as indicatedat step 2203 in FIG. 16. Establishment of this call may be restricted bythe calling plan and toll restrictions appropriate to the user and thecalled number. As soon as platform 114 receives answer supervision fromthe called party, the connected status of the call is fed back to hostcomputer 128. The latter at step 2206 causes a voice announcement of amessage through the established connection to the called party,requesting the party to hold for the user. Such an announcement may beaccomplished with the help of VRU 130 in the center 100. Host computer128 at step 2209 causes platform 114 to establish a second one of theoutbound voice connections 112 to the user's wireless phone number. Whenthe user answers the call using his/her wireless phone, the connectedstatus of the second connection is fed back to host computer 128. Thelatter at step 2212 causes platform 114 to bridge (or conference) thefirst and second established connections to allow the user to conversewith the called party.

In an alternative embodiment, after host computer 128 at step 2203establishes the first connection to the called party and at step 2206requests the party to hold for the user, host computer 128 may not causeplatform 114 to establish the second connection to the user. Rather,host computer 128 reports the connected status of the first connectionto server 28. Based on the user's wireless phone number, and inparticular its area code and/or prefix, server 28 identifies theinformation/call center which is the closest to the location of the userat that number, say, information/call center 24. (It will be appreciatedthat other location techniques, including GPS techniques, may be used,instead, to identify the closest information/call center to the user.)Server 28 then transmits a call initiation message to the identifiedinformation/call center via WAN 30, which contains the user's wirelessphone number to call. The call initiation message is then routed toinformation/call center 24 and particularly to the switching matrix hostcomputer therein. Upon receiving the call initiation message, the hostcomputer causes the associated switching matrix platform to establish anoutbound voice connection to the user's wireless phone number. Server 28then bridges the first connection with the called party to the secondconnection with the user through WAN 30, thereby allowing the user toconverse with the called party. It should be noted that the bridgeconnection portion within WAN 30 extends from the switching matrix hostcomputer of center 21 to that of center 24. These host computers mayperform necessary protocol conversions to transport voice informationthrough the bridge connection, pursuant to, e.g., the VoIP.

Calendaring Feature

In accordance with a calendaring feature of the invention, users may beconnected to server 28 to set up one or more appointments folders, e.g.,My Appointments folder 409, which are stored in database 20. Asdescribed before, database 20 may be accessed via the Internet to whichserver 28 is connected, and a user may utilize a web browser to navigatethrough the aforementioned web pages to create, maintain and/or view theappointments folders. In addition, the user may call informationassistance and ask an operator to access the appointments folderspursuant to the user's instructions. Alternatively, the user may accessdatabase 20 through an Internet connection, a wireless data connectionor direct dial-up to server 28, or through a LAN to which the user'scomputer or communication equipment is connected. FIGS. 17 and 18illustrate pages of appointments folder 409, respectively. Specifically,FIG. 17 illustrates a DAILY VIEW page showing the user's appointments ofa selected date. FIG. 18 illustrates a MONTHLY VIEW page showing theuser's appointments of a selected month.

As described before, appointment folders in database 20 can besynchronized with specified data sources in PIM applications anddevices. For example, by selecting Synchronization option 905 in FIG.14, the user can cause the synchronization of folder 409 with thecorresponding PIM data source in computer 803.

In addition, the user may call information assistance to learnappointments in appointments folders associated with the user. Inresponse to one such call, an operator may direct the call tointeractive voice response (IVR) unit 29 connected to server 28 in FIG.1 to allow the user to hear selected appointments. In addition, server28 may be programmed to send a reminder notification to a user prior tohis/her appointment. Thus, the notification may be automatic or selectedby the user as an option. The notification is provided by server 28 aperiod before the appointment, where the length of the period may bepredetermined or selected by the user, or varies with the subject,category and/or information content of the appointment record providedby the user. For example, if an appointment concerns catching a domesticflight which generally requires a relatively short check-in process,barring any user override, based on an analysis of the subject, categoryand/or information content of the appointment record, server 28automatically generates and sends a reminder notification to the user anhour before the scheduled flight. On the other hand, if it concernscatching an international flight which generally requires a relativelylong check-in process, the lead period for generating and sending such areminder notification may be two hours.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the remindernotification may be communicated to the user via telephone, SMS, email,facsimile, etc. For example, server 28 may cause IVR unit 29 to call theuser's wireless phone number to verbally remind the user of an upcomingappointment. The verbal reminder may be realized by automated voice. Inaddition, given different methods of delivery of a reminder notification(e.g., via facsimile, SMS, email, wireline telephone, etc.), server 28may decide to utilize one method of delivery over another depending onthe particular situation. For example, when the user's wireless phone isunresponsive as it is outside its home area or wireless phone servicecoverage, server 28 may instead send the reminder notification via SMS.To that end, database 20 contains the user's SMS and other contactinformation provided by the user.

A GUI may also be made available for the user to choose, modify ordefine templates for formatting, e.g., the subject line and/or body ofthe email message he/she receives as a reminder notification, includingadding his/her own static text to the message. Such formattingfacilitates automated sorting, forwarding or processing of email basedupon patterns found in the subject line and/or body of the message, andhelps those email-initiated messaging systems which require specificformatting or content. However, by default, the subject line for theemail notification may be taken from the title (or subject line) of anappointment record, which may also include the date and start time ofthe appointment. The body of email may include the information from anotes field in the appointment record.

As described before, an owner of an appointments folder by default isthe only person authorized to view and edit his/her own calendar.However, the owner may also grant other users rights to access theappointments folder. Access rights may have different levels. A user maybe granted “read-only” access rights, who is allowed to view certainappointment entries only. For example, the read-only subscriber isgenerally allowed to view the date, time and title (or subject) of anappointment record, but cannot open the record and view or edit anydetails thereof. In addition, the read-only subscriber may not even beallowed to view the title of a personal appointment record. Nor can theread-only user add or delete any appointment records. On the other hand,a user granted “administrator” access rights is generally allowed toview, edit, add or delete appointment records, except for a personalappointment record, in which case the administrator-user can only viewthe appointment date and time of the personal record. In addition, theadministrator-user is allowed to grant the read-only access rights toothers, or restrict or revoke such access rights.

FIG. 19 illustrates an ADD APPOINTMENT VIEW page for adding a newappointment record to folder 409. The user is afforded options forsharing certain information concerning the new appointment. For example,by selecting private option 1405, the user who is the owner of folder409 keeps the new appointment record personal. In that case, when aread-only subscriber or administrator accesses folder 409, only date andtime information concerning the new appointment is revealed to thesubscriber or administrator. In addition, in that case the administratoris not allowed to edit any information concerning the new appointment ordelete the new appointment record.

By selecting Show As Busy option 1407, the user keeps the titleinformation of the new appointment record from the read-only subscribersto folder 409. As a result, one such subscriber is allowed to view thedate and time information concerning the new appointment, along with atitle replaced by the word “busy.” On the other hand, an administratorof folder 409 is allowed to exercise his/her full access rights to thenew appointment record.

By selecting Public option 1409, the user allows both read-onlysubscribers to and administrators of folder 409 to exercise their fullaccess rights to the new appointment record. That is, one suchsubscriber is allowed to view the date, time and actual title of the newappointment, and one such administrator is allowed to view and/or editevery information concerning the new appointment, and even delete thenew appointment record.

As described before, a user may call information assistance and asks anoperator to access appointments folders in database 20 associated withthe user. Upon verification of the user's login information, anddetermination by server 28 of the user's access rights to each folder,the operator may vicariously administer the folder in response to theuser's verbal commands. The operator, as an alter ego of the user, isaccorded at least the same access rights as the user. The operator maytherefore retrieve, edit, store or delete any details in the folders solong as the user has the authority to do so.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, theabove-described calendaring feature may be integrated with such otherservice features as making reservations, ticketing and conducting otherelectronic transactions for a user. For example, a user can callinformation assistance for a TeleConcierge® service whereby an operator,at the request of the user, makes restaurant reservations or purchasestickets for sports events, concerts, opera, shows, etc. for the user. Itshould be noted that the user's preferences, e.g., the preferredrestaurant and dining time, may be specified in a user profile,described below, which is made available to the operator when the usercalls for the TeleConcierge® service. In addition, the relevant userpreferences from the profile automatically populate the fields in anelectronic request, e.g., for a restaurant reservation, on operatorterminal 120, thereby obviating the need of an interrogation by theoperator. Thus, referring to FIG. 20, after an operator at step 2703provides a service to a calendar user for a future event, e.g., making arestaurant reservation for a party, the operator, at the request of thecalendar user, establishes a connection to server 28, opens the ADDAPPOINTMENT VIEW page of FIG. 19 of a specified appointments folder, andadds an appointment record concerning the future event to the folder, asindicated at steps 2706, 2709 and 2711, respectively. Of course, theuser request can be met only if the user is the owner or administratorof the appointments folder. Continuing the example and assuming that therestaurant reservation is made electronically, e.g., via aTeleConcierge® server (not shown), the reservation informationtransmitted to the restaurant automatically populates the appropriatefields of the new appointment record, e.g., its title, time, date andnotes fields, with minimal manual input by the operator. For instance,the title field of the new appointment record may be pre-populated andread “Reservation at XYZ Restaurant.” In addition, the notes field maybe pre-populated with information concerning the name under which thereservation was made, restaurant address and phone number, number ofpeople in the party, any smoking preference, etc. The TeleConcierge®server then generates an appointment ID in its own database foridentifying the new appointment record. In the event that thereservation is subsequently changed through the TeleConcierge® server,the appointment record identified by the appointment ID is changedaccordingly.

The user may also want to inform the invitees of the upcoming event. Tothat end, the user himself/herself, or through the operator, accessesserver 28 which provides the functionality of sending invitations,including the information in the new appointment record, to the inviteesvia email, facsimile or other methods of delivery. For example, the userin this instance wants to send the invitations via email, the user (orthrough the operator) provides the email addresses of the invitees ofthe event to server 28, as indicated at step 2714. Accordingly, server28 at step 2717 composes an invitation email based on the information ofthe new appointment record in a manner described before. Server 28 atstep 2720 sends the invitation email to the invitees' email addressesjust provided. In addition, the user may want to add the reservationappointment to those invitees having their appointments folders storedin database 20. To that end, the user provides such invitees' MDN andother ID information identifying the appropriate folders. Server 28 atstep 2723 provisionally enters into the respective invitees' folders aninvitation appointment record containing information similar to that ofthe reservation appointment record described above. The invitees arenotified of the provisional invitation appointment the next time whenthey access their calendars, and it is up to each invitee to adopt theinvitation appointment record in his/her folder.

In addition, it should be noted that server 28 is programmed to link (orhyperlink) contact names in the user's appointments folder(s) to thecontact information associated with such names in the user's contactsfolder(s). Thus, in accordance with still another aspect of theinvention, a contact name in an appointment record may be highlighted toindicate that the associated contact information is available in theuser's contact folder(s). The user may access such information bypointing and clicking at the highlighted contact name.

User Profile

In accordance with the invention, an operator at an information/callcenter may utilize one or more profiles associated with a user toeffectively provide information and communications services to the user.In general, a user profile is a record containing identifiers andpreferences associated with the user. One such profile may be a personalprofile including personal preferences selected by the user, whichconcern particulars of delivery of information and services. Theselection of personal preferences may be accomplished through use ofInternet web pages or an operator. The resulting personal profile isidentified by the user's telephone number, e.g., MDN, and stored in aprofile manager described below. Other profiles associated with theuser, and the use of any of these profiles in combination with theuser's personal profile are fully described below.

By way of example, the user in this instance calls a predeterminedinformation access number for a directory listing, and the informationassistance call is routed to, say, information/call center 100 of FIG.2A. The received information assistance call is then handled by center100 based on a personal profile previously established by the user. Forexample, such a personal profile specifies, among others, that thelisted name, number and address are to be emailed to the user's emailaddress, e.g., johndoe@home.com, after he/she is connected to the listednumber.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 2A, the information assistance call isreceived by switching matrix platform 114 in information/call center100. In a well known manner, platform 114 derives, from the signalingassociated with the call, the user's phone number from which the calloriginates, also known as the ANI. The switching matrix host computer128 then requests any profile identified by such an ANI from profilegateway 321 connected to data network 124.

Referring also to FIG. 21, gateway 321 receives the profile requestincluding the ANI through data network interface 2822. In response tosuch a request, processor 2825 searches memory 2829 for the profileidentified by the ANI. It should be noted at this point that all profiledata is input and updated (e.g., via Internet web pages or operator)through profile manager 2805, which may be located in information hub 10in FIG. 1. Copies of the profile data are distributed by manager 2805 tothe profile gateways in various infomation/call centers through WAN 30.In this illustrative embodiment, a master copy of the profiles is keptat manager 2805. For example, profile gateway 321 initially forwardsrequests for new profiles to manager 2805, and caches copies of therequested profiles from manager 2805 in local memory 2829 for rapid,subsequent retrieval of the profiles. Memory 2829 here genericallyincludes disks, caches, and volatile and nonvolatile memories. When aparticular profile in gateway 321 is updated at manager 2805, the latternotifies gateway 321 that the particular profile is expired.

Thus, continuing the above example, if processor 2825 determines thatthe requested profile cannot be found in memory 2829 or the requestedprofile is expired, processor 2825 forwards the profile request tomanager 2805 through communications interface 2831. In response, manager2805 provides to gateway 321 any latest profile identified by the ANI.Otherwise, processor 2825 retrieves from memory 2829 any available,unexpired profile identified by the ANI.

In order to expedite the information assistance, host computer 128preferably is programmed to wait for a return of the user's personalprofile for a short predetermined period, e.g., 2 seconds, while thecall is placed in queue even if there is an available operator.Nonetheless, host computer 128 may wait for a longer period when nooperator is available anyway. Let's assume that the user's personalprofile is received by host computer 128 within the wait period. Hostcomputer 128 causes platform 114 to operate according to those parts ofthe personal profile pertinent thereto. For example, the personalprofile may also specify a special skill required of an operatorhandling the call, e.g., a Spanish language skill. In that case,platform 114 routes the call to, or places it in queue for, a Spanishspeaking operator. It should be pointed out at this juncture that thesystem components of information/call center 100 bear a server-clientrelationship where gateway 321 serves profile data to clients includinghost computer 128 and database server 126. When the call is answered byan appropriate operator, which involves another client, namely, databaseserver 126 in this case, host computer 128 forwards a copy of thepersonal profile to server 126, along with the ANI.

Otherwise, if the personal profile was not received by host computer 128within the wait period, the host computer forwards to server 126 the ANIwithout profile data. Accordingly, server 126 issues to profile gateway321 a profile request similar to that issued by host computer 128, whichincludes the ANI identifying any user profile. Since by now profilegateway 321 most likely has obtained the necessary user profile datafrom profile manager 2805 and cached same, gateway 321 efficientlyreturns a cached copy of the requested profile to server 126.

When the operator answers the call, server 126 communicates to theoperator through terminal 120 any profile data pertinent to the handlingof the call. The operator then interacts with the user and utilizesserver 126 to locate the requested listing. In this instance, the user'spersonal profile requires that the user be connected to the listingnumber. It also requires that at the same time the full listing detailsbe sent via email to johndoe@home.com, which is provided in the profile.Thus, as soon as the operator utilizes a well known function of server126 to connect the user to the listing number, server 126 sends toprofile gateway 321 a message, which contains a subscriber identifieridentifying the user, the information to be delivered (listing name,number and address in this case) and delivery method (email and emailaddress). Gateway 321 in turn forwards this message to profile manager2805. The latter then generates an appropriate request to messagingserver 2807 for email delivery of the listing name, number and addressinformation, in accordance with the user's personal profile.

Messaging server 2807 may be situated at the same location as profilemanager 2805. Server 2807 serves as a gateway for delivering electroniccontent information to a user, e.g., via facsimile, email, SMS andwireless application protocol (WAP). When it is determined thatelectronic content information needs to be delivered via one of thesecommunications, profile manager 2805 forwards the necessary content andaddressing information (e.g., email address) to messaging server 2807.Messaging server 2807 feeds back to profile manager 2805 informationabout the delivery status. This information may also be used for billingpurposes.

It should be noted that in the above example, profile gateway 321 needsto communicate in real time with profile manager 2805 each time when arequested profile is unavailable or expired in memory 2829. In analternative embodiment, to avoid such real time communications withmanager 2805, thereby saving the response time, a copy of each profilein profile manager 2805 is also stored in the profile gateways in all ofthe information/call centers, including profile gateway 321. Whenever achange is made to a profile in manager 2805, the latter immediatelycommunicates the change to each profile gateway to ensure that eachgateway has the current set of profiles, identical to the master set inmanager 2805. Nonetheless, this “copy-all” approach is disadvantageousin that it requires more local memory capacity to store a larger profiledatabase in each gateway.

In general, a profile comprises a string of identifiers, each of whichis accompanied by a defined value. FIG. 22 illustrates one such profile,denoted 2900. Profile 2900 serves to provide information about the userand his/her preferences. As shown in FIG. 22, profile 2900 includes FNfield 2903 containing the first name of the user, e.g., “John” in thisinstance; MN field 2905 containing the middle name or initial of theuser, e.g., “J” in this instance; LN field 2907 containing the last nameof the user, e.g., “Doe” in this instance; FAV field 2910 containing thefacsimile number provided by the user, e.g., “1234567890” in thisinstance; EAV field 2913 containing the email address provided by theuser, e.g., “johndoe@home.com;”. . . ; LNRDM field 2916 specifying theuser's preferred method of delivery of a listing number, e.g., emailwhich is represented by a value “3” in this instance. indicates thatemail is the preferred method of delivery; LARDM field 2919 specifyingthe user's preferred method of delivery of a listing address, e.g.,email in this instance; LDRDM field 2922 specifying the user's preferredmethod of delivery of listing details, e.g. email in this instance; andso on and so forth. It should be noted that other content deliverymethods other than email, e.g., facsimile, SMS and/or WAP may bespecified in fields 2916, 2919 and 2922 of profile 2900. It should alsobe noted that profile 2900 may be used to specify not only methods ofdelivery of different parts of listing information, but also whether themultiple delivery methods occur simultaneously. Further, profile 2900may be used to specify whether, after the content delivery is initiated,the user-caller should be handed off to VRU 130 or the operator to beinformed of the delivery status. Although profile 2900 may define thecontent delivery options, the operator, at the request of the user, mayelect other alternative or additional delivery methods, overriding thepreviously defined option. For that matter, the user may always requestthe operator to change or temporarily override different defined optionsin profile 2900, subject to a necessary security check on the user.

In an alternative embodiment, profile 2900 is realized in extensiblemarkup language (XML) which, as is well known, uses tags (wordsbracketed by “<” and “>”) to delimit data. In this instance, profile2900 expressed in XML is illustrated in FIG. 23, which is equivalent tothat of FIG. 22.

Profile 2900 may also define options of various assistance servicefeatures which may include, e.g., the above-described TeleConcierge®features whereby the user can make restaurant reservations, purchasetickets, etc.; a NumberBack feature whereby the user is provided with alisting number before he/she is connected to the listing number; and aLocationPro feature whereby the user can obtain directions to a listingaddress. Similarly, for example, the methods of delivery of (i) aconfirmation of a TeleConcierge® reservation or purchase, (ii) a listingnumber, and (iii) LocationPro directions to the user may be specified inprofile 2900 as well.

As mentioned before, the information assistance and services provided tothe user may be based on more than one profile associated with the user.These profiles may be arranged in a hierarchy. For example, thehierarchy may consist of seven levels, with the seventh, highest levelcorresponding to the user's personal profile described above. The sixthlevel corresponds to a group profile, also known as a “class ofservice,” which includes preferences for a predetermined group ofindividual users belonging to one or more carriers. The fifth levelcorresponds to a site carrier profile used when a specific carrier in aspecific information/call center is involved. The fourth levelcorresponds to a call center profile which allows differentinformation/call centers to apply service features in different ways.The third level corresponds to a carrier market profile, which includespreferences for customers of a carrier in selected markets. The secondlevel corresponds to a carrier profile which is used for a specificcarrier nationwide. The first level corresponds to a default profileapplied to all calls lacking any other profiles.

In this illustrative embodiment, the hierarchical relationship of theprofiles requires that, barring any restriction, preferences in aprofile at a relatively high level take precedence over thosepreferences conflicting therewith in a profile at a relatively lowlevel. Thus, in the case where a carrier defines a carrier profile (atthe second level) for all its subscribers, which applies to all of theircalls, and one of the subscribers also defines his/her own personalprofile (at the seventh level), preferences in the personal profileaccordingly override any conflicting preferences in the carrier profile.The resulting profile, generated by processor 2825 of gateway 321, is areconciled profile which contains non-conflicting preferences from theprofiles at different levels and is used by the clients and operator toprovide information assistance and services to the user.

The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention. Itwill thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able todevise numerous other arrangements which embody the principles of theinvention and are thus within its spirit and scope.

For example, in the disclosed embodiment, the master copy of theprofiles is stored in profile manager 2805 which is coupled to messagingserver 2807 for realizing electronic content deliveries. It will beappreciated that multiple profile managers similar to profile manager2805 and multiple messaging servers similar to messaging server 2807 maybe geographically distributed. In that case, each manager sends, to thegateway in each information/call center, a control signal indicating thecurrent load of the manager and/or its connected messaging server. Inresponse to such a control signal, the gateway efficiently routesrequests for profiles (content delivery) to those managers (massagingservers) experiencing a lesser load.

In addition, a user may specify in a profile his/her preferred types ofevents and areas of interest, e.g., selected music, fashion and sportsevents, for which the user would like to receive information from timeto time. Thus, based on one such profile, a server, e.g., server 28,tailors the content of the information delivered automatically to theuser to suit his/her interest as soon as the information becomesavailable. For instance, the user may specify in the profile that he/sheis a fan of a particular professional basketball team, and would like topurchase tickets to attend the games played by the team in the citywhere he/she lives. The user may further specify his/her seatingpreferences in such games. Based on such profile information, the serverfrom time to time initiates communications to the user's communicationdevice, and thus to the user, informing the user of the schedule of theupcoming games of interest and the availability of the preferred seatsahead of the game times. In the case where tickets may be purchasedelectronically, on learning such information, the user may also utilizethe communication device to purchase any game ticket on line. Otherwise,the user may reserve tickets through an agent or a service, e.g., theTeleConcierge® service. Similarly, the user may specify his/herfavorable products, services, manufacturers, and merchants in his/herprofile. In response, the server from time to time communicates to theuser any sales and advertising information concerning such products,services, manufacturers and merchants.

Finally, information/call center 100 is disclosed herein in a form inwhich various functions are performed by discrete functional blocks.However, any one or more of these functions could equally well beembodied in an arrangement in which the functions of any one or more ofthose blocks or indeed, all of the functions thereof, are realized, forexample, by one or more appropriately programmed processors.

1-18 (cancelled).
 19. A directory system comprising: an interface for locating contact information concerning a party in a directory; a processor for verifying whether the contact information is valid, and generating a selectable option of initiating a communication connection with the party based on the contact information when the contact information is verified to be valid; and a device for selecting the option to initiate the communication connection.
 20. The system of claim 19 wherein the contact information includes a telephone number of the party.
 21. The system of claim 20 wherein the communication connection includes a voice connection.
 22. The system of claim 21 wherein the voice connection includes a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) connection.
 23. The system of claim 19 wherein the interface includes a graphic user interface (GUI), and the selectable option includes an icon.
 24. The system of claim 19 comprising a personal computer (PC).
 25. The system of claim 24 wherein the device includes a mouse device connected to the PC. 26-96 (cancelled).
 97. A method for use in a directory system comprising: locating contact information concerning a party in a directory; verifying whether the contact information is valid; generating a selectable option of initiating a communication connection with the party based on the contact information when the contact information is verified to be valid; and selecting the option to initiate the communication connection.
 98. The method of claim 97 wherein the contact information includes a telephone number of the party.
 99. The method of claim 97 wherein the communication connection includes a voice connection.
 100. The method of claim 99 wherein the voice connection includes a VoIP connection.
 101. The method of claim 97 wherein the selectable option includes an icon. 102-153 (cancelled). 